TruNorth Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT – Free Report) by 214.9% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,412 shares of the retailer’s stock after buying an additional 1,646 shares during the quarter. TruNorth Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Walmart were worth $212,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.
A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of WMT. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Walmart by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 422,736,888 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $38,194,278,000 after purchasing an additional 2,050,683 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Walmart by 3.4% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 90,635,238 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $8,167,186,000 after purchasing an additional 3,017,829 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Walmart during the 4th quarter valued at $5,737,355,000. Northern Trust Corp increased its position in shares of Walmart by 8.9% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 43,641,936 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $3,943,049,000 after purchasing an additional 3,550,037 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. increased its position in shares of Walmart by 1.2% during the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 42,015,818 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $3,796,129,000 after purchasing an additional 514,036 shares during the last quarter. 26.76% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.
Analyst Ratings Changes
Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on WMT shares. UBS Group decreased their target price on Walmart from $112.00 to $110.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 10th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Walmart from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, May 12th. Tigress Financial increased their price target on Walmart from $115.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 2nd. Robert W. Baird increased their price target on Walmart from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, May 16th. Finally, Mizuho increased their price target on Walmart from $105.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, June 9th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $106.67.
Walmart Stock Down 0.5%
Shares of NYSE WMT opened at $94.36 on Friday. Walmart Inc. has a 12 month low of $66.67 and a 12 month high of $105.30. The company has a current ratio of 0.78, a quick ratio of 0.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47. The firm has a market capitalization of $753.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.32, a PEG ratio of 4.54 and a beta of 0.68. The business has a 50-day moving average of $97.10 and a 200-day moving average of $94.51.
Walmart (NYSE:WMT – Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 15th. The retailer reported $0.61 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.58 by $0.03. Walmart had a return on equity of 21.76% and a net margin of 2.75%. The company had revenue of $165.61 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $164.53 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.60 earnings per share. Walmart’s revenue was up 2.5% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts expect that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.
Walmart Announces Dividend
The firm also recently disclosed a dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, May 27th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 12th were issued a dividend of $0.235 per share. This represents a dividend yield of 0.95%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 9th. Walmart’s payout ratio is 40.17%.
Insiders Place Their Bets
In other Walmart news, EVP Daniel J. Bartlett sold 1,760 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $94.77, for a total value of $166,795.20. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 650,977 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $61,693,090.29. This represents a 0.27% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Kathryn J. Mclay sold 4,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $95.24, for a total value of $380,960.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 1,060,455 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $100,997,734.20. This represents a 0.38% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 142,711 shares of company stock valued at $13,710,319 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 45.58% of the company’s stock.
Walmart Profile
Walmart Inc engages in the operation of retail, wholesale, other units, and eCommerce worldwide. The company operates through three segments: Walmart U.S., Walmart International, and Sam's Club. It operates supercenters, supermarkets, hypermarkets, warehouse clubs, cash and carry stores, and discount stores under Walmart and Walmart Neighborhood Market brands; membership-only warehouse clubs; ecommerce websites, such as walmart.com.mx, walmart.ca, flipkart.com, PhonePe and other sites; and mobile commerce applications.
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